so much that he bought another and
now wants to carry electric bikes at his
shop. When he heard about the expo,
he immediately planned a trip to the
San Diego expo. We caught up to him
on the third day after he had literally
ridden every possible moment of the
event: “I’ve always loved two wheels—
ever since I was 5 years old—and still
haven’t lost my affection for it! It could
have a motor or just pedals—whatever.

I’ve done about 35 years’ worth of
motorcycle road racing, too, so I have a
lot of fun on two wheels!

“This is my first time trying out abunch of different brands to find outsome of their idiosyncrasies—what’sgood, what’s bad. I’ve been lookinginto opening an e-bike shop for the lastfive years, so I’ve been watching thetechnology and prices, and it’s finallyhere. I think people will spend $2000–$4000 on a really good bike, whereasfive years ago they’d spend more thanthat and get just kind of a so-so bike.”I spent some time riding the trackwith Pete, trading bikes and talkingmore, and he was definitely one ofthe most knowledgeable riders thatI ran into. Every level of rider wasrepresented on the track—from olderfolks who hadn’t been on a bike inyears to highly skilled riders who rodeeverything from cars to older or home-brewed electric bikes to solar-chargingelectric recumbents.TRACK-TACULARThe riding tracks that Pete and Rayhave designed are amazing. Since theevents are held in parking lots, they usesteel crowd barriers to mark the outsideand inside of the course. There’s asmall wooden “hill” in the back straightthat serves to let people see what thebikes can do on an incline, and a set ofwooden humps for experts, specificallyfor mountain and fat bikes.

There are cargo bikes, and some
people bring their kids to let them ride
around on the back. Most are surprised
that, with the power available, some of
those long cargo bikes ride nearly the
same as a regular-length bike.

One rider came out, appropriately,
on his Zero SR to test ride some
electric bicycles.

Felt built this cargo bike on the
success of their Bruhaul with a
slightly shorter frame and Shimano
STEPS drive system. The result is a
handsome cargo bike that feels like
a normal bike.